Ɛpsilon

To C. G. Semper   21 January [1874]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Jan. 2[1]

My dear Sir

Some years ago I read an Essay by you controverting my views on Coral Formations.2 I believe that I made an abstract at the time, but have mislaid it, & consequently I cannot remember its title or anything about it.— I am now preparing a new Edit. of my Book on Coral Reefs,3 & am bound, as an honest man, to say that you dispute my views— Will you, therefore, be so very kind as to give me the title and date of your essay […] And, if it would not be asking too great a favour, can you tell me what was your chief objection to my views, which have been accepted by several persons who have studied coral reefs.

incomplete4

1
The year and date are established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from C. G. Semper, 25 January 1874.
2
In a report on a trip to the Pelew islands (now Palau; Semper 1863, pp. 565–6), Semper had argued against CD’s view, expressed in the conclusion of Coral reefs, p. 147, that barrier reefs and atolls were the result of subsidence while fringing (coastal) reefs were the result of upheaval.
4
The original letter is complete and is described in the sale catalogue as being three pages long. The transcription from the beginning of the letter to ‘Will you,’ is from an image of the letter; the rest is from the dealer’s transcription.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 consequently I] ‘I’added

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9252G,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9252G